CMU professor accused of having child porn resigns

Central Michigan University announced Monday that it received a resignation letter, effective immediately, from the professor accused of possessing child pornography on a work computer.

The school announced Thursday that it has suspended William L. Merrill and barred him from the campus in Mount Pleasant pending the results of an investigation by law enforcement.

According to the university, its information technology employees found "inappropriate material" on Merrill's computer Monday, and it suspended him that day.

According to court records cited by The Morning Sun, a campus IT employee shut down the Internet connection to Merrill's computer because of a high volume of traffic that suggested the computer might have been taken over by outside hackers. Merrill contacted the IT staff when he couldn't get on the Net, and that led to the discovery of three videos of child pornography, the records said.

Isabella County prosecutors charged Merrill on Wednesday with distributing child pornography, possessing child pornography, and using a computer to commit a crime. He also was charged with possession of a switchblade. He had not yet been arraigned by Thursday.

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